Calls for full NPR show strength of feelings on transport investment - The Yorkshire Post says

The strength of feelings when it comes to the need for investment in the region’s railways could not have been clearer following the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.
By YP Comment
Published 18th Nov 2022, 16:27 BST

While the Chancellor said he would “deliver the core Northern Powerhouse Rail”, it is widely believed that this is the reduced plan revealed last year by Boris Johnson.

A plan that would only see two miles of new high speed track actually being laid out in Yorkshire.

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That clearly falls short of the region’s expectations and this newspaper has long called for a full implementation of NPR. The reasons for this are obvious to anyone who lives and works in this great region of ours. But seeing prominent local leaders come together to demand the transformative infrastructure that was promised to the North is reassuring.

Oliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire, said: “The current state of our train services is just another example of what decades of underfunding and underinvestment have done to the transport network across the north.” PIC: Gerard BinksOliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire, said: “The current state of our train services is just another example of what decades of underfunding and underinvestment have done to the transport network across the north.” PIC: Gerard Binks
Oliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire, said: “The current state of our train services is just another example of what decades of underfunding and underinvestment have done to the transport network across the north.” PIC: Gerard Binks

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “The people we represent should have the same level of transport investment and funding the South has benefitted from for decades.”

While Oliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire, said: “The current state of our train services is just another example of what decades of underfunding and underinvestment have done to the transport network across the north.”

It shows the value of regional Mayors, speaking out for the places that they live and work in. And is a reminder of the importance of devolution.

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However, without proper funding from Whitehall the region will continue to be held back.

And just as the education attainment gap is growing in Yorkshire, how are young people meant to seek out opportunities if mobility is such an issue?

Related topics:Yorkshire PostTracy BrabinYorkshireNorthern Powerhouse Rail